Multimedia in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education; Commentary: eBooks and eReaders are Ascending

摘要

Electronic book readers have not achieved extensive adoption in either academia or in reading for leisure. However, Apple computer has shown a remarkable ability to take a product with low market penetration and promote it to a higher level of global acceptance. In 2000 the Apple iPod created a revolution in personal music listening when the iPod, and its software iTunes, eclipsed the mp3 players of the time. In 2010, a comparable major entry to a niche market has been the launch of the Apple iPad [1] as an eBook reader. Readers from several manufacturers have been available over a decade, but they did not create a large market. Apple not only sells a product, but put on entertainment as well. Although it is a little unfair to compare Apple's approach to snake-oil salesmen of the Wild West the question remains; is the iPad mostly for show or a genuinely useful product? Steve Jobs has given us the entertainment and it is over to us to become believers (or not) in the eBook future.